Ukraine and Russia Swap Seven Civilians Each, Ombudsman Says

Ukraine has brought back seven Ukrainian civilians from Russia and handed seven civilians over to the aggressor state in return, Ukraine's parliamentary human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said on social media.

Lubinets: a humanitarian channel with Moscow

"Thanks to my humanitarian communication channel with Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova, we managed to reach agreements on the mutual return of civilians. Seven Ukrainians returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory, and seven also went to Russia as part of family reunification work with the support of the ICRC," Lubinets wrote.

Who came home

According to Lubinets, those who are finally home include a 90-year-old woman with limited mobility and a 50-year-old Ukrainian woman who has survived a myocardial infarction and a stroke and has other illnesses. Given the health of both women, the necessary conditions for transporting them were provided during the organization of their return.

A young woman and her child were also brought back. When the full-scale invasion began, the woman was temporarily in Mariupol, and, because of the fighting and the subsequent occupation of the city, she was unable to return to her family. A significant obstacle to returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory was documenting the child. The family needs psychological support, Lubinets said.

Our World section has more on prisoner and civilian exchanges.